A Cape Coral who helped rescue two young boys injured in a car accident while riding their bike say they don't want to be seen as heroes.
Faith is the cornerstone of Chris and Kisha Hardin's marriage. So she didn't question her husband's instinct when he decided to stop and check out what appeared to be two kids playing in a median along Pine Island Road Sunday night.
"Something just was like turn around," said Mr. Hardin. "It didn't feel right."
And it wasn't right.
"He told her, he was like, 'I think my friend just died," said Mr. Hardin. The 13-year-old boy was talking about his 11-year-old friend. The friend was standing on the pegs of his bike when they were hit by a car while crossing the 1900 block of Pine Island Road.
"We had no idea what we were walking into, I can tell you that much," said Mr. Hardin.
Fortunately, Mrs. Hardin who is a former EMT, remembered the life saving skills she perfected on the job. "His ankle was way over this way, and all you see is bones," said Mrs. Hardin. "They were knocked out of their shoes. Their shoes were in the middle of Pine Island," said Mrs. Hardin.
A single sock laid in the grass the next day, and skids marks from the car were visible a few feet away.
"I just went down there and I shook him and I was just like shaking his chest rubbing his chest going 'wake up, talk to me, what's your name? Tell me who you are, tell me what's going on here, you gotta talk to me,'" said Mrs. Hardin.
But there were no words, just faint breathing. "You could just hear him shallowly breathing," said Mrs. Hardin.
They were on the scene before the flashing lights of first responders lit up the dark portion of Pine Island Road where the crash occurred.
"If we didn't stop I don't think that little boy would still be alive," said Mrs. Hardin.
Their only plan that night was head home and make pasta salad. Call it luck or divine intervention, either way, the couple says they wouldn't change the course of their detour.
"We were just trying to do what we would, what I would, want someone to do for one of my loved ones had that happen, you know, and that's take action," said Mr. Harkin.
A 16 year-old was driving the car that hit the young boys. The driver stayed on the scene. The 11 year-old boy was air lifted to Tampa to treat life-threatening injuries. The 13 year-old was treated at a local Lee County hospital.
The young boys weren't wearing helmets and didn't have lights on their bike.
